Pearson wants even more success

Sunday

Aug 25, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By winning nine games and going three rounds deep in the Class 4A playoffs, some might think the Monterey football program is back to where it used to be throughout the 2000s.

And while that may be good for the fans, it's not good enough for head coach Todd Pearson, who wants the program to surpass what it was doing when it was one of the more dominant 5A programs in West Texas.

"We're making progress and going in the right direction," Pearson said. "What it boils down to is how consistent you can be as a program, and we're working on that and trying to be consistent with what we do, and then get to a level and stay at that level. I wouldn't say that we're there yet and we may never be, but we're definitely working toward that direction."

While Pearson wants to keep the focus on the future, it's hard to argue with the strides the Plainsmen (9-4, 3-2 in District 4-4A) took a season ago.

By reaching the regional quarterfinals and giving a good Birdville team a run for its money, the Plainsmen made their deepest postseason run since 2006, when they lost to Colleyville Heritage in the 5A regional semifinals.

For Pearson, success isn't necessarily measured in wins and losses - though that's a part of it - but rather by how ready his team is for the district slate and beyond.

"I think it's important to win the games you can in non-district," said Pearson, who as an assistant watched Monterey plenty of times struggle in non-district only to dominate league play.

"But I also think it's important that everything moves step by step and you move up the ladder. In our program we want to be at our best going into the last game of the year, and we've been fortunate to be able to do that and get to a certain point (in the playoffs). The non-district is important for wins and losses and for the mentality of our kids, but it's not going to get us where we need to ultimately be."

Where that is, Pearson said, is playing for a state championship, something that hasn't been done in this area above the 3A level since the late 1960s.

The bad news for Monterey is the graduation of 40 seniors from the 2012 squad, many of whom were key contributors last season. The good news is there's plenty of returning talent back to make another deep playoff push.

Pearson welcomes five offensive and eight defensive returning starters, including basically his entire front four, three key members of the secondary and two players who made Monterey one of the top rushing teams in the area last season.

"(Leadership) is unique to the season and unique to the team you've got," Pearson said. "We do have several seniors who got playing time last year or were a starter last year, and hopefully we can get that same leadership as we did from the other group."

Leading the way will be Monterey's pounding ground game behind senior Travon Benton and junior Vincent Johnson.

Benton started the 2012 season as the third rushing option in Monterey's attack, but quickly asserted himself as the go-to player, finishing with 1,494 yards and 15 touchdowns, displaying a coveted blend of power (5-foot-10, 200 pounds) and speed (4.8 40-yard dash).

Johnson was a mid-season call-up from the junior varsity and showed why he could be the next top running back in line, finishing with 285 yards and six touchdowns on 41 carries.

Monterey will have to break in a new quarterback this season, and senior southpaw Camden Arnold appears to be next in line. Though he had just one pass attempt as a junior, he could also give the Plainsmen an added air threat they didn't always have last season after leading Monterey's 7-on-7 team to the state tournament in July. He'll have top target Blake Walden to throw to.

The biggest question for Monterey is up front, where graduation has left three holes to fill.

There will be some experience on the offensive line with the return of senior Ryan Woodham and junior Andren Anderson, but filling the other three starting spots was the focus of the spring and will be again during two-a-days.

Luckily for the Plainsmen, while those offensive holes are being filled, an experienced and talented defense returns to help lead the way through a tough non-district slate that includes games against El Paso Americas and Randall.

"That's the great thing from year to year, especially after the season we had last year, is having all those guys coming back," Pearson said. "With us having some juniors in the lineup last year coming back as seniors and plugging in a few new kids, that gives us a little bit of consistency and knowledge of where we need to start with."

An experienced front and secondary will be the strength of the defense.

Leading the way are senior end Austin Heinrich and juniors Sam Bartholomae at one end and Adam Benitez, Alazea Douglas and Xavier Freeman on the interior.

Backing them up in the secondary are seniors Marcus Hopson, Dominique Patterson and Christian Cedillo.

About the only question mark on the defense is at linebacker, where the only returner is All-South Plains linebacker Jordan Silva, a senior. Monterey will also have the added bonus of a solid kicker in senior Davis Williamson, who hit on all 10 field-goal attempts and 43 of 45 PAT kicks.

"We had a lot of young kids, several sophomores, playing on defense last year," Pearson said. "I think with a year under their belt that we'll be really solid up front. That will be something we can hang our hat on early in the year more than we have in the past."

george.watson@lubbockonline.com

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